Honda is definitely one of the best companies in the world . And when it comes to a Japanese manufacturer, that could mean the Honda CR-V, which means a great engine for your fast car, or a supercar.
We’re not saying the Honda CR-V will make you bounce in the pillowcase as eagerly as the Civic Type R or Honda NSX. It’s a big SUV, and everyone seems to want it now, of course, except for the environmentalists, but when you tell them the Honda CR-V doesn’t have “dirty” diesels and you can only buy it with a petrol-electric hybrid, the win might be won. out.
In this review we don’t get attached to the power of dreams, and we seek to deal with everyday realities, such as operating costs, practicality, whether interior design is comfortable for family vacations and more.
We will also tell you how the Honda CR-V compares with these key points with its competitors.
We also review some excellent alternatives to SUVs, including the Citroën C5 Aircross, Ford Kuga, Kia Sorento, Peugeot 5008, Toyota RAV4 and VW Tiguan (and the seven-seater Tiguan Allspace).
So keep reading to find out everything.
To envision the make and model that you see fit your needs?
In a glance
How many decorations?
5
number of motors
single drive
What kind of fuel is available What is the best fuel for you?
hybrid
MPG range across all versions
39.2 – 42.8
Available door options
5
Security
3 years / 90000 miles
Company car tax of 20% (minimum / maximum)
2,059 sterling / 2,825 sterling
Company car tax of 40% (minimum / maximum)
£4118 / £5651
Honda CR-V Prices
RRP . Price Range
£30,880 – £39,840
any car?
Target price range
£28,458 – £36,836
any car?
PCP range
£298 – £395
PERFORMANCE, DRIVING, AND CALM
Engine, gearbox and acceleration 0-60 miles
The 2.0 i-MMD Hybrid is Honda CR-V’s only engine.
That’s fine for the most part because it’s really lively, with instant feedback when you put your foot under the standard CVT automatic gearbox with plenty of gearing up to 70 mph without any drama.
The Honda CR-V clocked 0-60 mph in 8.0 seconds when we tested, which on the day kept the Kia Sorento Hybrid beating the Land Rover Discovery Sport P200, but you can choose between two-wheel drive or all-wheel drive for your car.
Anyone expecting to be able to pull a proper payload with a Honda CR-V may be in for a shock.
Now that the 1.5 liter petrol engine is available, the maximum towing weight is 750kg.
This may be a bit of a disappointment, while you can carry more weight with some hybrid competitors, including the Toyota RAV4 (1500 kg) and the 2.0 FHEV Ford Kuga (1600 kg).
Honda CR-V Suspension and Driving Comfort
If you are looking for comfort,
the Honda CR-V is a good choice .
With its soft-side rated suspension and brake settings, it conforms easily to most surfaces, and takes the surprise of bumps at speed.
The Honda CR-V generally feels quieter than stiffer competitors, such as the Mazda CX-5, also on the highways.
Or even the fiercest rocks don’t cause any sudden jerks or nasty bumps in your butt.
The Honda CR-V isn’t quite a match for the comfort offered by the Citroën C5 Aircross, but as an upside, the Honda CR-V feels better restrained when exposed to ripples, and is less likely to bother passengers prone to bouts of travel sickness.
But the Kia Sorento is better in this regard, while our car is still very comfortable the rest of the time.
processing
The Honda CR-V classifies cars as “large” and “SUV”, and in the title are two adjectives, they aren’t usually associated with intelligent handling.
While larger SUVs generally don’t handle low-riding cars, there are some neat offerings in regards to that most notably the Mazda CX-5, but the Peugeot 5008 and VW Tiguan aren’t too inferior either.
The CR-V isn’t quite on par when it gets more body bends, so it’s less eager to change direction, but it’s not as gritty as the Uber-soft C5 Aircross.
It also has good steering with just the right amount of weight and response and allows you to steer it in very difficult bumps and turns with little sway or drama, and if you live down a muddy trail, the 4WD option can come in handy.
However, the Honda CR-V isn’t quite as competent an off-road vehicle as the Land Rover Discovery Sport.
Noise and vibration in Honda CR-V
The Honda CR-V Hybrid uses an automatic gearbox with an automatic transmission that will do weird things if you’re used to a traditional automatic.
For example, if you depress the accelerator pedal when overtaking, the revs go up and stay on until you go again.
The same thing happens when you put your foot down in search of gentle slopes, which may seem a far cry from what you might expect.
However, the CVT box is smooth, and the 2.0-liter Hybrid isn’t a rough engine.
It’s also very quiet when driven with less power or at lower speeds because it’s often the electric motor that pulls you in, although the Honda CR-V’s limited battery capacity compared to the plug-in hybrid means it can only do so for short periods in town.
Outside city limits and even at higher speeds, you’ll hear a lot of road noise and wind at highway speeds.
The Citroën C5 Aircross and the Peugeot 5008 are much better at getting rid of both.
Interior design, fit and finish
Driving position and dashboard
Few people will have any complaints about the basics on the Honda CR-V.
The pedals, seat and steering wheel are all well aligned.
There’s a good range of adjustment for steering column height and reach, and the driver’s seat offers manual height and power lumbar adjustment.
But the backrest angle lever is annoying – it only leaves you with a set number of positions, and none of them seem perfect at all.
There are power-adjustable seats to remedy this, but you’ll have to buy a more expensive EX version.
However, the seat itself is really comfortable for a long trip.
The Honda CR-V has the same dashboard design and digital instrumentation as the Honda Civic.
It cannot be configured to your taste, as happens in the instrument screens of the Citroën C5 Aircross and VW Tiguan models.
Other than that, the display is easy to read and the rest of the dashboard buttons are large, well-kept and easy to use.
And a lot of CR-V competitors, like the Seat Tarraco and Tiguan, have more effective touch-sensitive climate control buttons.
Vision, parking sensors and cameras
The Honda CR-V’s windshield pillars are unusually thin for a large SUV, so visibility into corners or at intersections is fortunately unrestricted.
The deep front side windows and large door mirrors also make it easier to see the sides.
And if you raise your neck to look behind you, the slightly tapered line of the rear window still leaves you with plenty of glass for a clearer view when reversing, which is wider than you’ll find in many of its competitors, including cars like the Kia Sorento and Land Rover Discovery sports car.
However, these two competitors, as with most cars in the large SUV segment, come with parking aids as standard.
In contrast, the Honda CR-V includes front and rear parking sensors and a rearview camera on all S models. Bright LED headlights are standard on all models in the range.
Satellite navigation and infotainment system
The Honda CR-V’s infotainment system is the same, and weak, as the cheaper Honda Civic.
By the standards of the large SUV segment, which are cars with great systems and technology like the iDrive in the BMW X3, so they are less competitive.
A touch screen is conveniently placed on the dashboard, but even the largest screen installed on the recommended SE model is 7.0 inches, which is too small by today’s standards.
The screen resolution is also disappointingly low, and worst of all, slow software and confusing menus make it difficult to use.
While the Kia Sorento and Mazda CX-5 have much better systems.
Fortunately, Apple CarPlay/Android Auto smartphone mirroring is standard with the recommended SE tool so you can bypass Honda’s OS and use the touchscreen to control your phone’s apps instead.
The SE and above also come with four USB ports, a built-in satellite navigation system, and nine stereo speakers.
The S trim has eight speakers, a 5.0-inch touch screen without satellite navigation and a single USB port.
the quality
There are soft-touch plastics and leather-effect materials on the upper areas of the Honda CR-V, something like leather stitched into the door edges, as well as the glossy black panels and silver trim (the shocking walnut effect trim has been nullified) creating a refined ambiance inside the cabin.
However, the sheer number of materials used makes it seem as if the designers couldn’t stop designing.
VW Group competitors, including the Volkswagen Tiguan and the cheaper Skoda Kodiaq, are arguably have a more cohesive and attractive design.
The Honda CR-V is mostly built well but even in this respect there are places where the most powerful and luxurious SUVs are not quite on the same level.
For example, if you give the front door handle a sudden pull, it may bend in your hand.
Passenger space and luggage compartment
front space
We have a few complaints here about the front spacer on the Honda CR-V.
If you extend the front seats all the way back you’ll struggle with legroom, but there’s plenty of headroom, and even models with a panoramic sunroof won’t put you at risk of hair gel smearing on the bottom of the glass.
In comparison, if you ride a Peugeot 5008 with a panoramic roof, headroom is significantly compromised.
And our car really has a suitably spacious cabin as well, with a center armrest conveniently sized between driver and passenger.
Underneath is a spacious compartment with a sliding tray;
This provides various storage options, including enough space for a laptop computer if you remove the tray completely.
On the downside, the door bins are a little cramped and the glove box isn’t huge.
background space
The battery pack for the Honda CR-V’s hybrid system lives under the car’s floor, which means there’s no longer a choice of seven seats.
These two extra seats will never be spacious (especially compared to the Kia Sorento) but the re-evaluation of the car along with the five-seater competitors plays in its favor because it is huge on the inside.
The cabin “room” fits the head and legs and is best in class, including the Sorento, and there’s plenty of legroom under the front seats.
It looks a lot like the Peugeot 5008 three in the back because it’s so spacious, and the center tunnel that runs along the floor is so small that the middle passenger has plenty of legroom as well.
That’s not all, the Honda CR-V has wide-opening rear doors that make putting a child in a car seat easy, plus lower sills provide great access for grandparents and seniors.
Seat folding and flexibility
If you want front passenger seat height adjustment or lumbar adjustment, you need to upgrade to the mid-spec SR cabin.
Honda CR-V doesn’t offer a flat-folding front seat to give you room to load extra-long items from the dashboard to the edge of the tailgate as the Peugeot 5008 does.
The rear seats split 60/40, instead of the more advantageous 40/20/40 arrangement you get on the 5008 or the VW Tiguan Allspace.
The rear seats recline to provide additional passenger comfort, as well as the seats themselves fold completely flat because the seat base retracts down into the footrest as the backrest rolls down.
You also get hand levers next to the tailgate to easily release and fold the rear seats if you’re rear-loading, as well as a small cover that covers the gap between the boot floor and the seat back so nothing gets lost in the gap.
Rear trunk space
We installed nine hand luggage in the trunk of our Honda CR-V under the parcel shelf.
That’s the same as the Citroën C5 Aircross number and more than the Land Rover Discovery Sport with a bag, but less than the huge Kia Sorento box.
And generally you’ll have no problem fitting big wagons into the back of your Honda CR-V.
In fact, you shouldn’t have any problems loading bulky items on your Honda CR-V because there’s no loading lip to speak of, and because of what we said about seat folding in the previous section, giving you unobstructed space to the back of the front seats (helpful to move the bookcase home from the store).
Hooks are provided at each corner to fasten items and prevent them from moving around in the cargo area.
There is a 12V power outlet on the left side, near the entrance to the tailgate.
Daily prices and costs, and how reliable and safe they are
Costs and insurance groups, MPG and CO2
If you simply look at its list price, the Honda CR-V might seem a bit pricey compared to the Citroën C5 Aircross and the Mazda CX-5.
But it would be your best bet if you want to buy a lower price. Compared to other models, including the Kia Sorento, the Honda CR-V is very competitively priced.
It has strong resale values, too, although it’s not quite as strong as the Toyota RAV4 Hybrid’s.
The 2.0 i-MMD Hybrid engine has always impressed us when it comes to fuel economy, and in our real-world testing it managed over 45 mpg, making it a true diesel alternative.
The Kia Sorento Hybrid, on the other hand, averaged 38 mpg, while the Land Rover Discovery Sport P200 Mild Hybrid averaged 25 mpg.
The Honda CR-V’s CO2 emissions aren’t particularly low, so if you’re a corporate driver, we recommend a plug-in hybrid like the Ford Kuga.
This will lead to a significant reduction in the BIK tax bill on emissions.
Find out what your car really does to a gallon with the True MPG Calculator
Equipment, options and extras
The Honda CR-V range starts with the S trim, which comes with just the right amount of equipment including 17-inch wheels, automatic lights and adaptive cruise control, plus all the safety features and vision aids we’ve already covered.
We recommend spending a little more on the SE-Class, which adds the infotainment upgrades we mentioned (Apple CarPlay / Android Auto and 7.0-inch screen to name a few), as well as additional parking aids.
You also get dual climate control, 18-inch alloy wheels, privacy windows, automatic wipers, auto-dimming rearview mirror, and a leather-wrapped steering wheel.
On top of that is the Sport Line trim, which is nothing more than a styling package because it doesn’t add anything useful to the SE.
Plus, it’s only available with 2WD, and you can get the SE 4WD motor for less.
A search for the more expensive SR adds leather seats, heated front seats, ambient lighting, and keyless entry, while the top-of-the-range EX model features 19-inch aluminum-alloy wheels, a power tailgate, heated steering wheel, and a head-up display.
And these upgrades really push you to the top of the price list, which is why we say stick with the SE.
credibility
If you are looking for a reliable car, then according to a multi-way reliability survey you will be pleased with the Honda CR-V.
It stands out in the large SUV segment, and the only competitor that ranked higher was the Toyota RAV4.
And at the manufacturer’s level, Honda also performed well.
It ranked eighth out of 31 similar vehicles, and Honda’s default warranty is three years/90,000 miles, including breakdown assistance.
Safety and security
When the current Honda CR-V was launched, Honda confidently declared that it would achieve the highest five-star safety rating from Euro NCAP testing, and it did.
If you look at the individual class grades, they are generally good but the Toyota RAV4 is better, and the Honda CR-V had injury protection issues for adults in the back seats and the child protections weren’t the best either.
The Honda CR-V features automatic emergency braking (AEB), lane departure warning, traffic sign recognition, electronic emergency response and lane-keep assistance all standard on the Honda CR-V. Blind Spot Monitoring and Rear Cross Traffic Alert – Warns you of approaching vehicles when reversing.
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Summary
Now with its five-seat hybrid powertrain lineup, the Honda CR-V remains a highly recommended vehicle.
It is really economical, very spacious for passengers and luggage, comfortable and decent to drive.
Reliability is also a strong point, but make sure you get a good discount to cut the price.
The 2021 Honda CR-V starts at $25,350, which is a roughly average base price for a compact SUV. Three higher trims retail for $27,860, $30,450, and $33,650. Front-wheel drive is standard in every model, and all-wheel drive is optional for $1,500. A fully loaded CR-V can top $40,000.
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